When first venturing into
combat robot building, I, like
most, began with RC car speed
controllers. It quickly became
apparent that even the most highly
rated controllers were not robust
enough to handle the power
demands of the 30 lb class. Several
240 amp race controllers billowed
smoke before I finally gave up on
RC car technology, and tried out RC
boat controllers. Available then in
several versions, I took the kit forms
and the ready-built forms of several
products and began experimenting.
Before long, I had a winner. The
Electronize brand of speed
controllers was by far the most
reliable and capable of those tested,
and thus began my seven-year
relationship with the company.

Based in Tamworth, Great
Britain, Electronize produces a
range of speed controllers for radio
controlled use, as well as electronic
switchers.

I have used several versions of
the Electronize speed controller;
from the 10 amp self builds, to the
40 amp CPU controlled type. My
most common purchase was the
FR15 unit. I have bought
almost 50 of these in the last
five years, and had only two
fail under unusually heavy
load which was way over the
rated specification.

Most electronic speed
controllers work in basically
the same way, with a pulse
wave modulation output
controlling motors via
MOSFET chips. The
Electronize is the same,

but does have some features I have
not found on other controllers.

Firstly, it has a variable frequency
selector that allows pulsing of
output from 100 Hz to 2,000 Hz,
giving the user a choice of running
more torque at low speed or
greater efficiency a high speed. I
make a lot of use of this feature on
my corporate robots to aid battery
longevity.

Secondly, the Electronize
controller has a variable output
speed selector, which is a fantastically useful tool. For my corporate
robots, I often carry 24-volt batteries
on board, but set the controller
output to seven volts. Using 9. 6 volt
drill motors for drive, they are still
quite impressive in terms of speed
and power, but the run time of my
robots can be as much as four
hours. Should I wish to speed up my
robots, a precision screwdriver is all
that is needed, and 10 seconds later
I can have my bots zooming around
at close to 30 mph, easily coping
with 40 amp peak currents. No
other controller I have found allows
me to do this so easily.

Seven years after buying my

Electronize
controller.

first Electronize speed controller (in
2001), I still use them extensively.
Despite most of my combat bots now
running the latest in speed controller
technology from other manufacturers,
my corporate robots will always run
the Electronize FR15, as they offer
everything I need in terms of voltage
and efficiency management, reliabili-ty, and value for money. I have run
these controllers reliably at up to
90 amps with minimal modification,
and have over 800 hours runtime on
one corporate robot in particular,
having changed out the motors
twice, batteries twice, and receiver
once, the speed controllers are still
the original ones from 2002. SV

Visit
www.electronize.co.uk for more
information.

30 lb bar spinner

‘tantrum’ used the
FR15 until 2007.

Radio-controlled,
full size R2-D2
performed really
well on FR15
controllers.